This invention relates to an apparatus for testing power transmission belts, such as frictional power transmission belts, in the form of V belts or flat belts and rotation timing transmission belts, and more particularly to a type thereof in which a drive belt is mounted between at least one drive motor and at least one intermediate shaft, while a test belt is mounted between at least one driven motor and the intermediate shaft to investigate belt fatigue by applying various loads to the test belt by means of producing an r.p.m. differential between these motors.
According to conventional apparatuses for testing the running state of a frictional power transmission belt, the belt to be tested is mounted between a drive pulley secured to a drive motor and a driven pulley whose shaft is applied to a given load in order to generate an r.p.m. differential between the pulleys. This load is produced by connecting a water wheel to the shaft of the driven pulley. This system is a so-called "water brake" tester. However, in this system, it would be rather difficult to apply various loads to the test belt due to the limited capacity of the water wheel, and further, the amount of electric power consumption would be large for testing the belt.